The animal fascinates, terrorises, symbolizes our beliefs, inhabits our imagination and is a source of emotional attachment and affection.Very early, photography has captured this theme. In the 19th century, the animal was firstly photographed as a subject of scientific study. Gradually, the photographer proposed a more personal interpretation. Simultaneously, the animal took on a more important role in mans’ social and economic life; becoming domesticated, consumed, protected, hunted, it is ever-present in our daily lives. This confrontation generates questions apparent in contemporary works. Artists no longer seek to analyse the animal as in the past but rather the relationship it has within our society, revealing this particular phenomenon as the projection of man on animal. We cast our regard, our interpretations, desires, fantasies, but also our concerns, betrayals, our violence, our weakness on the animal. It is the most accurate portrait of the man as it asks unanswered questions. The photographs in this exhibition are mostly narratives, be it melancholic, strange, denunciatory, disturbing or humor ous, they interrogate mans existence in relation to the world.

Magnum Photos is a photographic cooperative of great diversity and distinction owned by its photographer members. With powerful individual vision, Magnum photographers chronicle the world and interpret its peoples, events, issues and personalities.